Four newly elected Members of Parliament were sworn in during the plenary session on Wednesday, April 3, 2024, overseen by Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa. Sarah Nyangkori Aguti, representing Dokolo District as the Woman MP on the UPC ticket, was the first to take the Oath of Allegiance and the Oath of a Member of Parliament.
Aguti, pledging to provide genuine representation, fills the seat left vacant by the late Cecilia Ogwal, who passed away in January 2024.
David Ochwa, replacing Polycarp Ogwari as the MP for Agule County, took office following a Court of Appeal decision last month that removed Ogwari from Parliament due to his improper nomination for the 2021 general elections.
Subsequently, Kenneth Omona, the Minister of State for Northern Uganda, and Balaam Barugahara, the Minister of State for Gender, Labour and Social Development (Youth and Children Affairs), both ex officio members, also took their oaths.
The pair was appointed to Cabinet on March 21, 2024, alongside Phiona Nyamutooro, the State Minister for Energy and Mineral Development (Minerals), and Gen. Wilson Mbasu Mbadi, the Minister of State for Trade, Industry and Cooperatives (Trade).
Nyamutooro and Gen. Mbadi did not take their oaths immediately upon their appointment as they are sitting Members of Parliament.
Barugahara pledged to serve the nation, while Omona expressed his satisfaction at returning to Parliament after an extended absence. Nyamutooro thanked the President for recognizing and harnessing the potential energy of young people in Uganda’s leadership.
“As a representative of the youth, we are eager to see how Uganda can leverage its natural resources to accelerate our country’s development,” she said.
As of April 3, 2024, there are 556 MPs in the 11th Parliament.
